Lindale superintendent responds to Abbott’s tax proposal

LINDALE – Our news partner KETK is reporting that Lindale ISD Superintendent Stan Surratt has expressed concerns about Gov. Greg Abbott’s proposal to eliminate the property taxes that fund Texas public schools. Abbott visited Tyler on Wednesday to announce a five-point plan to lower property taxes. On top of limiting how much local governments can spend, Abbott also proposed needing a two-thirds majority to pass future tax increases, which Surratt called undemocratic.

“Obviously, the first concern is are our public schools going to be properly funded in the future?” Surratt asked. “Of course, everybody wants taxes to go down, but you’ve got to have the revenue source to pay for our schools and other things, counties, roads, whatever it may be. Of course, he did not give that option, how we would properly fund schools in the future if we do away with local property taxes?”

“The devil’s in the details, and concerning if you do away with our property taxes, how are those bonds paid that people already paid for, and so I think he’s talking about the M and O property tax, the day-to-day operations. The bonding indebtedness, the INS property taxes, those would continue,” Surratt said. “He did mention a two-thirds majority vote for future bonds. I guess he doesn’t believe in the democratic process. More than 50% decide on something, so that’s alarming. That doesn’t seem like a democracy when you have two-thirds of the people deciding something.”

Surratt went on to call the push against property taxes “super-conservative.”

“I think on this right here, it may be super-conservative, in a sense,” Surratt said. “We just don’t want any bonds. We don’t care who’s hurt by it. If we hurt public schools or we hurt children, we hurt learning and education; it’s just that we’re all against all taxes, and that’s not right. That’s not what’s best for Texas. That’s not best for best for students and certainly not what’s best for school districts and local communities.”

He continued by saying he thinks schools should be properly funded so they can give Texas students a good educational experience.

“We need to properly fund schools and provide great facilities so students can have a wonderful educational experience at our public schools. That’s what needs to happen and that’s what most Texans want,” Surratt said. “But to change the bond elections, you have to have a two-thirds majority vote. They’re just trying to make it harder for bonds to pass and that’s not what’s best for Texas, especially for students in Texas.”